Manufacture of type-bars.



S D R, A H G I R up r MANUFACTURE OF TYPE BARS. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 29 .1899. RENEWED AUG. 1, 1903.

UNITED STATES PATEN FFTCE.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS TO AMERICAN TYPOGRAPHIO CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MANUFACTURE OF TYPE-BARS.

Application filed July 29, 1899, Serial No. 725,456.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANoIs H. RrcHAnDs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Type-Bars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the art of making type, and has for its object to furnish an improved rocess for making types and more especial y for making types on the edges of type bar-blanks em loyed in the manufacture of type-bars or inotypes.

In the drawings accompanying and form ing part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partially in section, of an improved mechanism for making types in accordance with my im roved process therefor. Fig. 2 is partly an el evational partly a sectional view on a verticalmedial plane, the section being viewed from the left hand in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged View illustrating the type-making members concerned in the making of a type, that is, a die and a blank; Fig. 4 is an elevational view looking toward the right in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the members in section and in their relative positions at an advanced step in the operation of forming a type; and Fig. 6 is a side view partly in section, of the members in the position shown in Fi 5.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures.

In accordance with my present improve ments, when the types are to be formed on the edge of a type-bar blank, successive portions of the edge of the latter are respectively subjected to the operation of typeforming dies, which dies, by means of some suitable apparatus for selectively locating and operating the same, are brought to bear one after another in a desired order or sequence upon the edge of the blank. For the purpose of sustaining the blank in position during the formation of the types, it may be held by a support, such as that designated by 2, which sup ort is here shown as formed by the side-walls of a guide-slot, while the blank is fed along in the machine by some suitable mechanism.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 28, 1908.

Renewed August 1, 1903. Serial No. 167,947.

The several dies (herein designated without choice by the reference character 3) are supported or mounted in such a manner that they may be selectively brought to and moved from the working or type-making point in the machine. One manner of so mounting the dies is illustrated in the drawings. According to this particular organization of the mechanism, said dies are carried in a rotatably adjustable carrier 4, each die being shown provided with a spring which operates to hold the die in its normal or retracted position, the spring bearing against the head 5 on the top of the die stem.

The die-carrier 4 is shown fixedpn the lower end of the carrier-shaft 6, designed to be rotated to bring any required die into position for use. For this purpose, and to properly control the o eration of the diecarrier, said carrier shaft is shown rovided with a stop-wheel 7, which wheel is urnished with a series of stops either in the form of perforations, as shown in the present case, or they may be in the form of pins instead of perforations, thus following an ordinary mode of making stop-cylinders. A series of stop-pins (designated without choice by the character 8,) are shown mounted in an upright 9 of the framework of the machine for cooperating with the stops of said cylinder in the selection of a particulardie and its location at the type-making point. This upright may also carry a bearing 10 for the carrier-shaft as shown.

The carrier-shaft 6 is shown mounted in the bearing 12, which in the particular em bodiment of the ap aratus herein illustrated extends downward y from the top-plate 30' of a chamber or oven A within which the carrier and the dies mounted thereon are shown inclosed. Said oven is for the purpose of keeping the dies at the proper temperature, and to this end a current of air or other gaseous or fluid medium may be circulated through the chamber A, an inletpipe 13 and a discharge pipe 14, being shown for the ingress and egress of the air, etc., while the air or gas may be supplied from a furnace and the current maintained by suitable blast apparatus, not herein shown, as for instance an ordinary air-pump or a rotary blower. 7

The die-carrier having been rotated to the roper position and the selected die properly ocated at the working point of the machine,

with the aid of the corresponding stop-pin, as 8, which has been brought into engagement with the corresponding cylinder-stop, as 7, the die may thereupon be forced down through its working stroke and brought into forcible engagement with and caused to penetrate the material of the ty e-bar-blank to make the type thereon. n practice, this operation may be carried out in either one of several Ways. According to one way, the die may be forced down to a fixed position, and afterward the blank may be forced upwardly against the die through the working stroke required for finishing the type. According to. another plan, the stroke of the die will be continued downwardly against the blank sufficiently far to complete the forming the type; this latter mode of operation is the one to which the illustrated mechanism is applicable. For so operating the die, I have shown the apparatus provided with a die-actuating slide 15, which may be conveniently operated. by means of a hand-lever 16, shown pivotally supported at,

17 on the framework of the machine, and connected by a link 18 with the upper end of said slide.

In the apparatus here shown and described the blank is mounted in the support 2, and this is connected by an electric conductor 20 to a source of electricity, indicated at B, from the o posite pole of which another conductor 21 eads to the die mechanism. On the operation of a die to form a type and when the die contacts with the blank an electric current flows through the die and that portion of the blank subjected to the action of the die, thus heating and softening the metal which is being acted upon by the latter. The die, if a heated medium in the oven or chamber, is employed is prevented from so readily chilling the metal of the type, and at the same time a less quantity of the electric current will be required to obtain a desired temperature.

One character having been formed, as set forth, the hand-lever 16 is raised, thereby lifting the slide 15 and, preferably, cutting off the electric current. This breaking of the circuit is accomplished in the illustrated organization by connecting the conductor 21 to the slide 15, but in some cases the current may pass through the die-oarriershaft, it being in general immaterial how the heating current is supplied to the blank. On returning the die-actuating slide, a pawl 22 or like device, as an instance of a feed mechanism is free to operate a ratchet-wheel 23 which it does by reason of the tension of an operating spring with the result of turning the feed-roll R and thereby causing the feed.- ing forward of the type-bar blank ready for the neXt type-forming operation.

For the purpose of controlling the electric current, one at least of the type-making members inserted should be insulated from the rest so as to direct the current through the metal being 0 erated upon by the die. For this purpose I prefer to insulate the support 2 in which the typ e-bar-blank is directly held. The insulating material employed in this instance is shown at 24, Fig. 2.

The die-carrier 4 may be formed in two parts, the bounding surface of one part as shown in sectional view being indicated at 4, Fig. 2, while the parts are shown separated by insulating material 25. Similarly the dieac tuating slide maybe operated through a tubular non-conducting guide 26.

The means for making and breaking the electrical circuit thus consists of the type-die and type body or blank in connection with suitable appliances or means for operating these one toward and from the other. In

this case, therefore, the circuit is made by the contact of the. die with the metal when beginning the type-forming operation; and vice versa, the circuit is broken by the withdrawal of the die from the type. But by employing a separate circuit maker and breaker at some other point in the electrical circuit whereby the circuit may be broken independently of the separation of the die and the blank, the advantage is obtained of being able to hold the type-forming die in contact with the type for a longer period than would otherwise (in some casesl be practicable.

In some cases my invention will be employed without the electric current, in which case the dies should be heated to a temperature about equal. to or a little less than the melting point of the type metal. When the electric current is employed in connection with the means for maintaining the dies normally in a heated condition, the electric current cooperates with thepreviously heated die in forming the type. In some cases, however, the dies may be used cold, except as they are heated during the use of the die by the heating current passing between the type metal and the die.

. Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. That improvement in the art of making types which consists in subjecting the type metal to the action of a die and during the operation of the die subjecting the said die and the said type metal to heat.

2. That improvement in the art of making type-bars which consists in successively subjectingsuccessive portions respectively on the edge of the typebar-blank to the operation of type-forming dies and during the type forming action of each die applying heat to the said die and to the type then being formed.

3. That improvement in the art of making type which consists in subjecting a body of type metal to the action of a type-forming die and simultaneously applying a heating current to the metal .being operated upon during the operation of the die thereon.

4. That improvement in the art of making typebars which consists in successively subj ecting successive portions respectively of the edge of a typebar-blank to the operation of type-forming dies and in applying heat to each portion during its subjection to the action of the die.

5. That improvement in the art of making typebars which consists in successively subecting successive portions respectively of the edge of a typebar-blank to the operation of type-forming dies and in applying a heating current to the metal thereunder simultaneously with the action of each die.

6. That improvement in the art of making a type which consists in bringing together in working engagement a preheated die and a type-blank and in applying heat to said die during said working engagement.

7. That improvement in the art of making a type which consists in applying a preheated die to the type, blank, and also a heating current thereto.

8. That improvement in the art of making a type which consists in applying a preheated die to the type blank, and also a heating current thereto simultaneously with the application of the die.

9. That improvement in the art of making a line of type which consists in successively applying heated dies, successively located, to the successive type-blank portions of the main blank.

10. That improvement in the art of making a line of type which consists in successively applying heated dies, successively located, to the successive type-blank portions of the main blank and also a heating current thereto.

11. That improvement in the art of making a line of type which consists in successively applying heated dies, successively located, to the successive type-blank portions of the main blank, and also a heating current thereto simultaneously with the application of each die.

12. That improvement in the art of making a line of type which consists in projecting the die end of a selected die plunger from a heating oven and applying the same under pressure to the proper type-blank portion of the main blank.

13. That improvement in the art of making a line of type which consists in projecting the die end of a selected die plunger from a heating oven and applying the same under pressure to the proper type-blank portion of the main blank, and simultaneously with such application applying a heating current to the b ank.

14. That improvement in the art of making impressions which consists in applying a preheated impression-forming tool to the blank, and in advancing said tool to a stop.

15. That improvement in the art of making impressions which consists in impressing the characters on the blank and in supplying the heat in an increasing quantity to the blank during the making of the impression.

16. That improvement in, the art of mak ing impressions which consists in impressing the characters on the blank and in applying heat in an increasing quantity for the purpose ofreducing the molecular resistance to flow of the blank.

17. That improvement in the art of serially making the type on a type-bar which consists in successively applying, in type forming engagement, heated dies to successive portions of the edge of the blank, and applying heat to each die during its said type forming engagement for maintaining the 'dies at proper working temperature.

18. That improvement in the art of making types which consists in applying the dies to the blank in a heated condition, and in augmenting the heat during the application.

19. That improvement in the art of making a type which consists in applying a heated die to the type blank, and during such application raising the temperature of the blank by means other than the heat of the die.

20 That improvement in the art of making a ty e which consists in applying a heated d1e to the type blank, and during such application raising the temperature of the blank by means other than the heat of the die, and by the same means augmenting the heat of the die.

21. That improvement in the art of making typebars which consists in subjecting a body of type metal to the action of a preheated typeforming die, applying heat from one heating source to the die and concurrently applying heat to the die and the metal being operated upon from another heating source.

22. That improvement in the art of making typebars which consists in subjecting a body of type-metal to the action of a.preheated typeforming die, applying a blast of heat to the stem of the die during the typeforming operation, and during said typeforming operation passing a heating electrical current through said die and metal being operated upon.

= current throu 23 That improvement in the art of mak-' heated atmosphere about the stem of the die ing typebars, Which consists in subjecting a and applying heat from another source to 10 blank to the action of a preheated die and I the die and blank during the typeformative concurrently gassing a heating electrical engagement.

g said die and blank. FRANCIS H. RICHARDS.

24. That improvement in the art of mak- Witnesses:

O. A. WEED, FRED. J. DOLE.

ing typebars, which consists in bringing together a die and a blank, maintaining a 

